southern connecticut state university VSA college portrait

The Voluntary System of Accountability (VSA) is designed to improve public understanding
of how public colleges and universities operate.

The College Portrait provides consistent, comparable and transparent information on
the characteristics of institutions and students, cost of attendance, student engagement
with the learning process, and core educational outcomes. The information is intended
for students, families, policy-makers, campus faculty and staff, the general public,
and other higher education stakeholders.

To see Southern's College Portrait, click on the College Portrait icon:

As part of Southern's participation in the VSA, we administer the Collegiate Learning Assessment (CLA+) to a sample of freshmen and seniors. The CLA+ is a performance-based assessment
measuring skills such as critical thinking; problem solving; scientific and quantitative reasoning; and writing
effectiveness. In fall 2013, 145 freshmen were tested on this rigorous national assessment
and in the spring 115 seniors were tested. Once again, Southern students have exceed
expectations on the CLA+ in terms of educational gains on competencies that are in
high demand among employers. Seniors exceeded expectations in how well they performed
on the test compared with projections, which are based on CLA+ test scores of the
freshmen and their SAT scores. By exceeding expectations, our seniors have demonstrated
the value-added impact of a Southern education on their career preparedness.